Tuck and Roll.

Boys, if there is one thing you are definitely doing come Fall 2010, it's tucking your pants inside of your boots. Apparently the fashion industry doesn't care if you are wearing sweats, slacks, formal tux pants, or a onesie. It's all getting tucked into some kind of boot.

Tuckage on so many runways this season, including Thom Browne, Dolce & Gabana, and Burberry.

Some of this tucking I stand behind; some of it I definitely don't. It shall be up to you, brave men, to decide how you will rock the trend. But, since it's on nearly every single, solitary runway this season, you don't get to decide whether to tuck and roll, just how. My advice? You have to be a special kind of crazy to tuck your tux into boarding boots. Just saying.

The Great Boot Search.

I'm in love with these Banana Republic cement-colored boots. Are they worth a $200 investment? Or do I risk a markdown and get shut out? DILEMA!

I rarely use this blog to complain, but I've gotta get something out. I want to incinerate the entire boot industry and and make them rise again from their own ashes, only this time with affordable, good quality shoes that last! I'm so sick of paying big bucks for boots that have no protection against the snow/salt/sleet/slush that I need them for. Now, I am well aware that there are different classifications of boots: some are water resistant, some are weatherproof, some are none of the above, but I think making a winter boot that is fury and warm and not making them at least watertight is ridiculous. I bought a pair of boots that literally look like I've strapped Eskimos to my calves and they get wet from the bottom up, right through the sole, even in simply damp conditions like walking through a sidewalk cleaning. My shins are real warm but my tootsies are turning to icicles, and they weren't cheap. I call their bull shit!

These cutely detailed grays are $35.00 at Target, but should I really spend another penny on products that won't last?

Listen up Bootmakers, start making practical items that work as good as they look. Start considering your customer and their needs, not just your dollar margins. It backfires on you anyway. I will never buy another pair of shoes from the company that made my fuzzy boots, not even a springy flat, no matter how cute. And, I don't want to pay out my week's budget either. The high quality boots I'm pining after are at least $398. And, I have paid big bucks for boots before that have literally lasted one season and looked chewed up and spit out by the end of it.

These are the Big Kahunas. The Frye boots that I've been pining after. They are a hefty $358.00, but are they worth the investment over time? Damn! If only I was still living at home and waitressing, I could buy those suckers in my sleep. But then I would never get to wear them because I'd be living at home and waitressing...ugh.

I'm at a loss for why there aren't more mid-level options that I don't have to risk life and limb at Leohmann's to procure on sale. Please Booters, I'm begging, send me something warm, wearable, and well-made for about $100. I'll be your best friend!

Wade Through It.

I think the reason that my interest in the endless parade of catwalk shows spanning the globe faded early this season is because in the face of the world-at-large's too little, it's just too much. Not only is the endless coverage too much information period, but the obvious '80's re-hash that is coming again and again down the runways is just too much to look at. Huge shoulders, big hair, shine, tight, bigger, bigger, more, more. It all makes my head want to explode, and the state of current affairs (more and more layoffs, food lines, homeless moving into my A train) is enough mind/anxiety spark and ignition to keep the explosions coming without being reminded that there is more stuff being made than anyone will buy or need for more money than anyone will have. It makes me nervous. It makes me a little nauseated, kind of like when I go to Costco in the 'burbs and everyone and everything is huge. Too much stuff. Overload. Like a levee-broken-overflowing-flooded-river of too much. Enter Miuccia Prada and her waders to get you through to the other side.

Miuccia is the smart girl's guide to fashion. She puts ideas into her clothes and they barely matter unless you want them to, and then they matter more than you realize at the time. Her last season's collection, with its rumpled, post-tryst aesthetic, was a romantic ode to passionate sex in a hurry. This season's wares are a lot more put together. Earth comes to town amongst the intergalactic shows that have been catwalking all around Miuccia this season. Her colors are earthy: understated mud/olive/turmeric/rusted ruby/horse brown. I can almost smell their mineral makeup. The fabrics are stiff and strong, but touchable: felted wool, felt, wool, leather, or soft--like fur, velvet, and knits. Not pleather, not spandex, not lame. The shapes of things make sense for a woman's body. There are great curving collars finally drawn in at the waist (flattering), deep plunges at the neckline (feminine), and knee length hem lines (flirty). Prada's mature sexuality is always a high point, never cheap, never remotely tramped-up, it sneaks in through practical elements. Bright slashes of red peek from behind gray flannel dresses, the same scarlet becomes a smart coatdress, the deep plushness of the velvet and fur pieces beg to be pet. Prada makes you want to look there, she makes you want to touch. The feminine sparkle of the evening clothes, smartly embellished leather and gray felt, brilliantly adds a little ethereal to the solidness of the collection.

Then there are those waders. Mmmmm. Higher than thigh high leather fisherman's gear. A protective element. Masculine, but so alluring. Some are less high, but comfortably layered over thick socks and held up by straps. A clear imperative for the Prada woman to lift herself up by her bootstraps. Something about them is so visually appealing. I love when an article of clothing has the potential to separate the girls from the women. It will take something to pull those things up and also pull them off. Prada is smart fashion. It is sexy but meaningful, well only if you want to look for meaning. Otherwise, it's just gorgeous. End of story.

Photos from The New York Times and WWD.com. Click images for more information.

Pretty Petals, Stompy Boots

Devon, my cooler than cool best friend in high school, had these awesome flowered Dr. Martens, and seeing them on the feet of a stylin' somebody snapped by The Sartorialist in the maelstrom of fashion week double, triple, quadruple confirms that the 90s are back in bold fashion. You need some blooming boots for yourself. You can troll the internet for the out of print pattern seen in the photo above, or you can check out the slightly updated patterns on offer at the Dr. Martens online store. Flower from the feet up.

I Hearte Rodarte.

You all know by now that I want to be the third Mulleavy sister. In fact, I think I may be and they just don't know it. Anyways, their latest collection is collaged, layered, wrapped, and influenced by monsters. Just the way I like it. I'm worried that any more effusive declarations of love for them, in combo with the statements above, may qualify me for stalker status, so I'm going to just briefly share a few of my favorite highlights from the show here...

The orangey-red hair:

Which according to a NYTimes backstage photo, I could do at home with a can of spray stuff. Yay!!

The wicked Nickolas Kirkwood thigh-high, leather, strappy, wrappy boots.

Yum. They always have the hottest, most fetish-inspiring footwear of anyone. Kirkwood is a genius. I don't know how anyone walks in his shoes, but they look amazing. These do seem to require a bit of extra help though...

That's four, count 'em four, people wrapping the boots up that girl's legs. Four.

Of course, the clothing was amazing too. Textured, wrapped like the boots, and all marbled and mostly monochromatic.

Luck be a Rodarte dressed lady!

Photos from Style.com and NYtimes.com.

Cheap Thrill: Fantastic Flats

I don't care how many fancy, towering, foot fetish inducing pairs of heels there are on the runways right now; I am a flats girl. Now, I'm not talking the crunchy, granola flats of the aged hippie set. I may keep it comfy, but I refuse to cut out the cute (which also disqualifies any archaic assumptions about my predilection for "comfortable shoes"). So, when I find flats that fit the profile of fashion forward and wallet friendly, I get excited. Here's a few pairs that get me going:


They are all courtesy of the super-fun and thrifty website FredFlare.com. The shoes are each $28 and the slouchy suede boots are $38. Quite reasonable, even by my cheapskate standards. Click a pair for more details.

Thigh's the Limit

Riccardo Tisci is a leg man.

The thigh-high boots he sent stalking down the runway at his Givenchy show are an old school kick back to the days of Pretty Woman. Remember when everybody's favorite hooker with a heart of gold, Vivan Ward, rocked the pleather out of a pair of sky-high hiker-uppers?

I for one am all for this look, somehow it's all freshened up. As is always the case, everything old is new again. Now, these aren't so practical for a cold winter state like New York; but 'til the snow falls, let the boots rise!

Boot booty

I am on a quest for boots.

I've been hardcore shopping with the intention of replacing the totally cute but treacherous boots I was certain would carry me through a cold city winter. Unfortunately they until randomly turned into ice skates on three separate occasions and sent me flying. Some cheap, crappy, plastic material was used to make their narrow heals. It must have been magically developed in some fabled land of manufacturing as a solid alternative to WD-40, but wound up at the boot factory instead. My bloody knee is finally healing from the last spill and yet, no new boots. So, the search is still on.

Said search is infinitely complicated by my new dedication to only purchasing items that I am profoundly in love with. No hesitating, no rationalizing, no cheap impulse buys ("At this price who could pass this up? I'd be a fool not to buy it."). I want a wardrobe filled with self-expressing pieces; a closet carefully curated. Oh yeah, and on a budget.

These are the boots I am currently drooling over:


But drool will ruin them, and so will the winter sludge, er slush of NYC. They are not waterproof therefore there is no way I can justify the $185 price tag at Sacco. But, a girl can dream.


Did I mention I need flats? Waterproof and work-wearable? So many criteria. Any suggestions will be gladly received.